Derek's blog about writing, freelancing and creativity. Contents may have moved during transit.

Sunday, 14 May 2017

STANDPOINT is FREE

Where it all began.

First, a public announcement. STANDPOINT is a FREE download from May 14th to May 18th. Please share / download / review and do all the other groovy things that make an author's soul sing. UK https://www.amazon.co.uk//dp/B00UVQBVVU

Second, a little update for those of you who have been on the bus with me since Standpoint was first published in 2015 (and a few from before then). I'm now working on the fifth book in the Spy Chaser series, which is currently entitled No Defence. Writing what may well be the last book in the cycle is an unusual experience. Of course, there is the usual process of research, drafting, editing, panicking and insomnia. But in addition there is a certain, subtle pressure to both tie up loose ends and leave a door open for Thomas, Miranda and Karl to have new adventures.

This latest (let's not say last for now) novel takes place in the aftermath of the 2005 London Bombing, which was something I'd always planned to do and the reason why the series started off in 2003. Reading the details of that terrible time, along with the second failed wave of attacks two weeks later, is harrowing and so it should be. Regardless of the genre, readers expect a degree of authenticity and authors have a responsibility to deliver that. I remember feeling sickened when the film Skyfall showed a derailed London Underground train, but I think I was supposed to.

Books and films do more than entertain - they can take us on an emotional journey. Sure, there are formulas and templates and models - see Blake Snyder's Save the Cat as one such overview.

In No Defence, Thomas has years with the Surveillance Support Unit under his belt, and all the experiences of the previous fourbooks. He still has an eye for the details other people piece and he still has a talent for finding trouble. But this time, perhaps more than in any previous Spy Chaser novel, he is equal to the task.

Even if No Defence proves to be the last Bladen book for a while (never say never, right?), I'm not stepping away from the series. I am actively exploring how to get Thomas's adventures on to the small screen, on radio, or even on the big screen. I think it's time for a downmarket spy who doesn't wear a dinner jacket, who borrows his girlfriend's car, and for whom it's always been personal.